1st Star: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
Following a tough first two games of the series, Vasilevskiy bounced back in Game 3 with a 36-save performance during a 4-2 win over the Washington Capitals. He was peppered all night, with 21 of the 36 shots he faced coming off the sticks of Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov. The Lightning now trail the Capitals 2-1 in the series with Game 4 Thursday (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN) in D.C.
2nd Star: Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
Hedman had a hand in three of Tampa’s four goals with a goal and two assists in Game 3. He also led all Lightning players with 25:08 of ice time. After assisting on both power play goals to open the scoring, he made good on a sweet Nikita Kucherov pass to extend their lead to 3-0.
3rd Star: Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa power play, as it has in this series, was cooking in Game 3 and Stamkos got the scoring rolling with his NHL-best fifth goal with the man advantage. Barely two minutes into the second period, he would pick up his second point of the night with a secondary assist on Kucherov’s seventh of the playoffs.
[Lightning ride three-goal second period in 4-2 win]
Highlight of the Night: This Stamkos goal was quite a rocket:
Factoid of the Night:
DYK? There have been only seven sweeps in the #StanleyCup Playoffs since the bracket format was introduced in 2014 (7 of 74 series; 9.5%), with none occurring beyond the Second Round.
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 16, 2018
The previous five-year stretch saw 11 of 75 series end in sweeps (14.7%). #NHLStats #TBLvsWSH pic.twitter.com/2Bx9B9ZBeG
Wednesday’s schedule: Winnipeg Jets at Vegas Golden Knights, 9 p.m. ET, NBCSN (Series tied 1-1)
MORE:
• Conference Finals schedule, TV info
• NBC’s Stanley Cup Playoff Hub
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.